There is an abundance of information, support and products out there that will help you to maintain and showcase the appearance of your cars paint, but an often neglected aspect of car aesthetics is preserving and highlighting the lustre and brilliance of a cars ‘brightwork’, or the metal parts on the exterior of your car.
Brightwork should never be overlooked when looking to truly bring out the best in your car, with a sullied piece of chrome or alloy dragging down the appearance of even the most meticulously detailed paint.
The usual suspects of dirt and grime sully the look of metal; combined with regular exposure to heat, metal surfaces may become dull, discoloured, stained or dull and fade over time.
Before you start picking products and planning to polish, it’s important that you know what type of metal you are going to be working on, be it a chrome finish, uncoated alloy, polished alloy or something else entirely, with different products available to suit different materials and achieve different results.
There is a big difference between a job done properly done, and one done with poor quality or contaminated polish and applicators, with the latter making scratches and marks far more likely.
With no experience required, follow the below for a simple DIY guide to making those metal surfaces sparkle and shine, with time and a bit of elbow grease and the right stuff for the job all that is required to achieve show worthy results.
IMPORTANT TO NOTE
When using the applicator pad, the applicator should turn black when you are working in the polish. The black residue is a mixture of contamination and oxidation that the polish is removing from the surface of the metal.
If the applicator does not turn black upon application, cease work – this indicates that the metal is coated and unsuitable for use with metal polish.
WHAT YOU NEED
PRODUCTS
Meguiars All Metal Polish
Meguairs Chrome Polish
TOOLS
Microfiber Applicator Pad
Microfiber Towel
GET STARTED
STEP ONE
First off, you want a well-lit area that is out of direct sunlight. Before beginning you want the metal to be cool to the touch, with a hot surface causing polish to dry out on application, negating its purpose and making it very difficult to wipe off. Prior to polishing, any surface you are going to work on needs to cleaned, with contamination of any kind being counterproductive to the polished results you are trying to achieve.
STEP TWO
With a clean and cool surface, squeeze a conservative amount of polish onto the applicator pad, and work the product into the surface one small area at time until a shine begins to appear, re-applying as necessary.
STEP THREE
Using your clean microfiber towel, wipe off any residue that remains on the surface before beginning work on to the next section.
STEP FOUR
Repeat until your metal is shined and glittering. When you are finished, give your applicator and towels a run through the wash and store them somewhere sealed until next time!
Head to the Meguiars website for more information on their range of metal polishing products and a host of DIY advice.
